


RE:birth

by writing_central_3004



Category: RE:birth
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s), Original work - Freeform, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24645859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing_central_3004/pseuds/writing_central_3004
Summary: Based on the prompt: The hero shows up at the villain’s doorstep one night. They’re shivering, bleeding, scared. There’s also a slightly dazed look in their eyes- they were drugged. They look like they were assaulted. Looking up at the villain, swaying slightly as they’re close to passing out, they mumble “...didn’t know where else to go…” then they collapse into the villain’s arms.
Relationships: OC/OC
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15
Collections: RE:Birth Stories





	RE:birth

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this so I just wanted to put it out here somewhere!

Villain: Yoko aka **Murderess**

Hero: Kiana K. aka **The Phoenix**

**...**

“And once again, Manhattan’s greatest hero, The Phoenix, has defeated the powerful criminal, Murderess! From what our station was able to capture, it was a lengthy fight, but The Phoenix was able to come out on t—”

Yoko clicked off the TV and leaned back into the uncomfortable cushions of her couch. The aching of her body was so strong she couldn’t muster even a sigh. The battle that had taken place earlier that day had taken a toll on her. She was lucky that she managed to make it home, instead of having to hide and sleep in an alleyway… again.

Resentfully, she massaged a particularly painful spot on her left shoulder. _That bastard,_ she thought, _as if my life weren’t hard enough already_. And as if God himself was reading her mind and jeering, the doorbell rang. 

Yoko tilted her head towards the door and waited. It wasn’t often that she got visitors, in fact, Yoko _never_ had any visitors. One beat. Two. Then the doorbell rang again followed by a low _thump_ as something hit the ground on the other side of the door.

_Fuck._ Yoko reached for the handgun on her coffee table. _What idiot is trying to mess with me?_ Slowly, she approached the door. _Did someone manage to get my address?_ It wasn’t like Yoko went through the trouble to hide where she disappeared to after her fights with The Phoenix. Usually, the reporters crowd the scene and she’s able to slip off unnoticed. But now it seemed that she hadn’t gone completely unobserved. 

In a swift motion, Yoko swung the door open, trigger-finger itching to get funky, but. Her gun was aimed only at the dull yellow wall of her building hallway. Panic flashed through Yoko for a second until she noticed the person kneeling in front of her, unmoving. 

“Um,” Yoko nudged the head of the mystery bastard. “You alive?” 

The person twitched and their head moved. They looked up, but instead of meeting eyes, Yoko found herself looking down at the mask of none other than The Phoenix herself. 

“ _You,_ ” Yoko growled, pushing the muzzle of the gun against the hero’s forehead. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t paint the floor with your brains.” 

The Phoenix made a noise between a whimper and a gasp. “Murderess, please.” She swayed a bit, leaning into the gunpoint. “I...didn’t know where else to go…” That was all she said before she collapsed forward. 

“Fuck,” Yoko spat kneeling down to catch the hero before her head could touch the ground. She hesitated. If this girl _was_ The Phoenix, she could end it right now. There was no one there to stop her, no one to protect the hero like all the other times. Something felt off about the lack of people watching and the lack of adrenaline. It would be so anticlimactic, no screaming, no struggle. Just instantaneous death. Yoko gripped her gun a little tighter. _It doesn’t matter if we’re on camera or in the pits of Hell. We’re enemies. That will never change_. Somehow, Yoko still didn’t feel convinced.

 _It could be a trap_ , she thought, _I kill her, then I let my guard down and it turns out she’s a decoy or something._ Yes, that made perfect sense. And if it was a trap, Yoko refused to fall for it. She set the gun aside, lifted The Phoenix by her armpits and dragged her inside. 

“Ugh, what do they feed you?” Yoko grunted, turning around to kick the door and close it behind her. She pushed her coffee table from the middle of the floor to lay the hero down. _Rope_ , Yoko thought before remembering how flammable the hero was. _Handcuffs then?_

It took a bit of searching, but Yoko managed to find a pair of handcuffs in her bedroom nightstand. _I hope she doesn’t have secret super strength,_ Yoko prayed as she secured The Phoenix’s hands behind her back. _I’m only keeping her alive now so I can question her about the trap,_ Yoko told herself. _If there’s no trap, then I kill her. If there’s a trap...then I’ll kill her and find the real ‘The Phoenix.’ Stupid name, by the way._

It didn’t seem like the hero was waking up anytime soon so Yoko decided to get a headstart in her investigation. She started by searching for a wallet which she found in one of the many pockets of the hero’s cargo pants. _Kiana King_ read the driver’s license. There was that, a credit card and no cash. _Kiana, huh…_ Yoko pocketed the credit card, slipped the license back into the wallet, and set it aside. The rest of her hunt wasn’t very fruitful. There were some stale almonds in one of the coat pockets (gross) and lint in the rest. The only thing left was…

Well, Yoko would be doing the hero a favor anyways. The mask was so stupid and gawdy. It was plague doctor-esque with bright blue jewels where the eye holes should be (how could she see through those?) and smaller gems of the same ilk ran down the beak of the mask. Yoko took a breath and reached for the mask, removing it. She was not prepared for the [following] heart-attack. 

“YOU’VE BEEN AWAKE?”

“Too loud…” The Phoenix, or _Kiana_ groaned, squinting her (soft) brown eyes at Yoko’s voice. Yoko tried to force the burning sensation from her cheeks. She wasn’t sure why she was blushing in the first place. She wasn’t _embarrassed_ that the hero had been conscious for the entirety of the pat-down and she DEFINITELY was not startled by how lovely The Phoenix’s face happened to be. Certainly, she wasn’t amazed at how defined each of her features were, or by the way her jaw curled elegantly into her neck. Or even how her dark brown braids framed her gentle face. She would absolutely hope not.

“Water,” The Phoenix groaned, reaching up to tug at Yoko’s arm. 

“Fuck your water.” Yoko snapped, snatching her arm away. “You brought your ass into my house, I want to know why before I kill you.”

“Water…” she said again, this time accompanying the plea with a pitiful cough. 

_This bitch,_ Yoko griped internally. _I guess I’m not going to get any answers out of her if she’s thirsty..._

“Don’t move,” Yoko manhandled the hero into a sitting position against the couch. “If you move, I’ll kill you.”

Yoko’s heart nearly skipped at heat at the half-hearted grin that was flashed at her.

“Aren’t you going to kill me anyway?”

Yoko frowned. “If you have enough energy to be a smartass, you don’t really need that water huh.” Yet for some reason, she still found herself in the kitchen, fetching a bottle of water from her fridge. _What will I do?_ Yoko asked herself, shutting the fridge door. _I’m going to finally get rid of her, and then… what?_ Yoko didn’t ponder much farther than that because the smell of smoke filled her nose and thoughts. 

“What the hell!” Yoko screeched as she dashed back into the living room to see a small corner of her couch on fire. 

“Sorry,” The Phoenix croaked, barely being heard over the fire alarm starting up. “‘S hard control right now...I can’t,”

“Fuck,” Yoko said. She poured the water on the flames, but it didn’t seem to help.

“Let me,” The Phoenix said, pushing Yoko out of the way and laying her hand on the fire. It went out instantly under her touch. Yoko didn’t miss the absence of the handcuffs she had used to restrain the hero. _I guess we can add super strength to her powers._ She would deal with that later. Right now she was interested in something else.

“What’s your problem?” Rather than being afraid, Yoko was curious. The Phoenix was usually a figure of wit and patience. She was well known for using her head and saving her powers as a last resort. The source and strength of her flames were clouded in mystery, but when the hero did allow herself to show them off, she always seemed to have complete control. What changed just now?

“I don’t feel so good,” the hero admitted leaning back against the couch. “Weak...and dizzy.”

Yoko frowned and looked closer at the hero. Something about her, she seemed more than just tired, or confused, or drunk. _It can’t be_. Yoko took The Phoenix’s chin between her fingers and forced the hero to look in her eyes. They were glassy and unfocused. _She’s drugged_. It was indubitable, and it would explain the hero’s strange behaviour. 

“Where were you before you came here?”

“Mmm… a bar,” the hero whispered, closing her eyes slightly. “Some guy...got away…”

Yoko gulped and took her hand away. “Who the hell drinks after a fight? It’s your own fault you’re like this.”

“‘M sorry...thirsty.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Yoko relented.

Yoko returned with another bottle, happy to not be faced with fire again. The Phoenix took the water from Yoko and mumbled something that sounded like a 'thanks' before chugging the bottle.

“Slow down,” Yoko said without thinking. “You’ll choke.” Realizing the absurdity of her words she backtracked. “Not that I would be inconvenienced by that! In fact, choke all you want, it would make things easier.”

The Phoenix chuckled and set the now empty bottle aside. 

“You know, you’re as funny as you look,” she said lolling her head to the side. 

Yoko puffed up. “The fucks that supposed to mean?” Before it clicked. She wasn’t wearing her mask. 

“Fuck,” she groaned, reaching pointlessly to cover her face.

“We’re even now,” the hero said. 

“No shit.” Yoko sighed, leaning back against the couch next to the hero. _Not that it matters since you’ll be dead in the morning_ , she thought but didn’t voice. 

They were both quiet for a few minutes, both mulling over the fact that their identities were secret no longer. Finally, The Phoenix spoke up.

“I could use your help getting home.”

Yoko couldn’t help but laugh. “Hell no, I captured you and when I feel like it I’m gonna interrogate you. Most likely you’ll never see your home again.”

The Phoenix considered that for a minute. 

“Then, thanks for letting me stay the night…” The words were soft and trailed off to be almost soundless at the end.

“Didn’t you hear me—” Yoko asked before noticing that the hero had gone unconscious again. _It must be the drug_. Yoko hesitated before giving in and lifting the hero up to lay her on the couch. _She’ll just take up space on the floor, that’s why_. 

She retrieved the handgun she had left lying by the door and engaged the safety. _If she knows what’s good for her she’ll stay put in the morning._ Of course, why wouldn’t an unrestrained prisoner stay put in an enemy's lair? It would be common sense to stay captured. _I’m only waiting until tomorrow because I can’t interrogate a sleeping person_. Which was technically true and therefore a good excuse. _I’ll deal with her in the morning_ , she thought as she draped a spare blanket over the hero’s sleeping form, averting her eyes when they landed on the finger-shaped bruises that lined the lower part of the hero’s neck. _After tomorrow, the world will be free of her. After all, that’s all I want._ She turned off the living room light and stood in the doorway staring back at the couch where the hero lay. 

“I’ll deal with her in the morning,” she told herself again. 

But the next morning the living room was empty and the spare blanket was folded neatly on the couch. The Phoenix was nowhere to be found.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Don't forget to drop a comment or leave a kudos.


End file.
